Energy shares fell for a fourth straight session after President Donald Trump said he was close to making a final determination on a deal to end the U.S.-Iran war, according to CNBC. The energy complex led losses in the broader market, with OneOK down more than 3% as the sector struggled to regain footing. Chevron and Exxon Mobil each slipped about 0.8%, and Occidental Petroleum shed more than 1% as investors weighed the potential geopolitical risk and its impact on global energy flows.
In contrast, NextPower jumped 13% after the solar utility company said it would acquire battery storage specialist Prevalon Energy for roughly $365 million and lifted its full-year revenue guidance. The deal underscores a push by some energy-related players to diversify into storage and grid-scale projects, even as the broader energy sector contends with macro headwinds and policy uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Dell Technologies surged 29% after raising its full-year guidance. The company now sees adjusted earnings per share of $17.90, with revenue projected between $165 billion and $169 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had anticipated $13.09 per share on about $142.5 billion in revenue, highlighting a sharp divergence between management’s outlook and Street expectations and a potential repricing of the stock on stronger profitability and larger-scale demand for its enterprise solutions.
Other computer hardware and services stocks followed suit, lifting sentiment in the tech equipment space. Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose more than 14%, Super Micro Computer climbed about 11.8%, and HP gained around 8%, as investors rotated into durable demand stories within technology hardware amid improving visibility into AI-era spending and enterprise refresh cycles.
On the consumer side, American Eagle Outfitters sank about 13% after reporting first-quarter results that missed consensus on comparable-store sales at the American Eagle brand, with a 2% decline versus StreetAccount estimates for growth of about 3.1%. The company also issued a softer second-quarter outlook, guiding operating income of $45 million to $50 million against a consensus of roughly $65.3 million, weighing on the broader apparel retail group.
Gap shares plunged more than 17% after the retailer cut its sales outlook for the year to a growth range of 1%–2%, from a prior estimate of 2%–3%. The first-quarter revenue of $3.50 billion came up short of the $3.52 billion analysts expected, according to LSEG, though its adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share topped the 37-cent consensus. The weaker top line kept investors wary as the company recalibrated its trajectory in a challenging retail environment.
In space-focused equities, shares were broadly lower following a Blue Origin ground-test failure on Thursday night in Florida. AST SpaceMobile, which has a partnership with Blue Origin, fell almost 17%, while EchoStar slid about 3.2% and Rocket Lab dropped roughly 6.2% as investors reassessed near-term demand and program execution risks in space-delivery and satellite communications.
In the software and cybersecurity space, Okta surged about 25% after the identity management provider issued stronger-than-expected current-quarter revenue guidance and full-year revenue targets, alongside first-quarter non-GAAP earnings, revenue and operating income that beat consensus estimates. NetApp jumped about 25% after issuing first-quarter and full-year guidance that surpassed expectations, complementing a fiscal fourth-quarter beat on adjusted earnings and revenue and raising the prospect of a sustained run for the data infrastructure company. If the move holds, NetApp would post its best daily performance since 2002.
PagerDuty rose 29% after raising its full-year earnings guidance to a new band of $1.27 to $1.32 per share, up from $1.23 to $1.28, with results topping FactSet estimates. The company also reported first-quarter results that exceeded expectations on adjusted earnings, revenue and adjusted operating income, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud-delivered incident-response platform.
SentinelOne, a cybersecurity provider, declined about 9% after issuing quarterly guidance that called for revenue in the current quarter of $289 million to $291 million, below the roughly $292 million consensus from analysts polled by LSEG. The projected earnings trajectory also missed expectations, weighing on sentiment in the security software space.
Key takeaways
- Price move: Energy stocks fell for a fourth straight session, led by declines in OneOK and peers, while several tech and software names posted outsized gains.
- Catalyst: Trump’s indication of a final determination on the U.S.-Iran deal, combined with earnings-driven moves in Dell and NextPower, shaped tradable shifts across sectors.
- Implication: Sector leadership pivoted toward hardware and software beneficiaries, even as energy remains exposed to geopolitical headlines and policy risk.
What drove the move
According to CNBC, the core driver for the broader market tilt was the ongoing political backdrop surrounding U.S.-Iran relations, with President Trump signaling that a final determination on a deal to end the war could be imminent. The development added a geopolitical layer to the energy complex, contributing to the underperformance of integrated energy names as the sector contends with potential shifts in demand, sanctions risk, and supply expectations. While the headlines weighed on energy equities, trading activity also reflected a broader search for earnings catalysts that could sustain risk appetite in a choppy macro environment.
Within the results-driven segment, Dell’s upbeat guidance provided a counterpoint to the energy weakness. The company’s decision to lift full-year targets underscored continued demand for enterprise computing and infrastructure solutions, particularly as organizations invest to scale AI, analytics and cloud capabilities. The strength in Dell rippled through related hardware peers, lifting equity performance among several names in the space. The reported guidance also contrasted with Street expectations, illustrating the degree to which management views demand as more resilient than the consensus had anticipated.
NextPower’s acquisition of Prevalon Energy and its revenue outlook pointed to a strategic pivot toward storage and flexibility in the grid. The deal not only expanded NextPower’s footprint but also signaled a willingness to pursue growth through bolt-on acquisitions in the energy-transition playbook. The stock’s 13% advance reflected investor appetite for storage and hybrid energy solutions at a time when the sector is trying to balance growth with price volatility in energy markets.
In retail and consumer discretionary, American Eagle Outfitters and Gap faced separate but equally meaningful recalibrations. American Eagle’s missed comp sales, with a 2% contraction against expectations for growth, and Gap’s trimmed sales trajectory highlighted the ongoing challenges in teen-focused apparel and the broader apparel space as consumer spending patterns evolve and discounting remains a feature of the landscape.
Market reaction
The day’s moves painted a bifurcated market where technology hardware and software benefited from stronger guidance and structural demand for digital infrastructure, while traditional energy equities faced pressure on geopolitical headlines and policy risk. The sector-specific performance painted a picture of investors recalibrating exposure as earnings season progresses and macro narratives evolve around inflation, rates, and growth trajectories. The space and connectivity-related names also traded with heightened sensitivity to programmatic risk and execution updates, as seen in the mixed performance among space-related stocks and cybersecurity peers.
What analysts are saying
Analysts noted the contrast between rising guidance in enterprise technology and the more cautious appetite in energy. For the Dell update, the gap between management’s EBITDAs and the street’s expectations underscored the potential for a re-rating of internal margins and demand for enterprise hardware in a climate of accelerating AI adoption. In consumer retail, the revenue and margin shortfalls at Gap highlighted how consumer traffic and basket size remain under pressure, even as the company maintains a longer-term plan for profitability. In the software space, Okta, NetApp and PagerDuty’s results generated a mixture of optimism and caution, reflecting divergent trajectories for identity management, data infrastructure and incident response platforms tied to enterprise IT modernization initiatives.
EDAs and benchmarks cited by data providers painted a nuanced picture: Okta’s and NetApp’s outsized guidance underscored a potential re-evaluation of risk premia in software and cloud-native services, while SentinelOne’s revenue guidance disappointed and tempered risk-on sentiment in cybersecurity names. The scale and speed of revisions across several names point to a market that is increasingly sensitive to guidance beats, cost structure, and the pace of AI-driven technology buying cycles.
Bigger picture
Beyond the quarterly details, the broader narrative remains anchored in the macro backdrop: inflation trends, central-bank policy paths, and geopolitical headlines all play into sector rotation. The divergent moves across energy, technology hardware, and consumer discretionary inventories suggest that investors are prioritizing earnings visibility and secular growth drivers over macro noise in the near term. The reaction to Dell’s guidance and NextPower’s strategic move illustrates how market participants are differentiating between durable demand in technology and the cyclical dynamics affecting energy and retail profitability.
Investors will continue to monitor how the U.S.-Iran situation evolves and whether a final determination materializes, alongside updates on inflation data and any shifts in the Federal Reserve outlook. Earnings reports from high-growth software and hardware names will also shape risk sentiment as markets attempt to price future cash flows amid an environment of higher interest rates and evolving geopolitical risk.
Closing: what to watch next
Key developments to monitor include any new commentary from policymakers on energy and defense markets, fresh quarterly results from the tech and software ecosystem, and guidance revisions from other large-cap technology and consumer-facing names. Market participants will be looking for signs that the current rotation into enterprise technology and storage solutions can sustain momentum, while energy remains sensitive to headlines and policy shifts. Next earnings and guidance updates, in particular from cloud and AI-adjacent players, will help determine whether the current rally in certain tech names can broaden into a more durable trend.
